Great article by Greg Lea:-

"The two main issues on display against Newcastle - attacking bluntness and defensive brittleness - have dogged Burnley throughout the campaign.

Start with their inefficiency in the final third. For all their tidy approach play at times, only Sheffield United (9.6) are averaging fewer shots per game than Kompany’s men (11.3). Burnley also rank second-bottom for shots inside the box (6.3 per game), bottom for attempts inside the six-yard box (0.8 per game), and top for the share of shots from outside the penalty area (37%). Unsurprisingly given those numbers, Burnley have the worst cumulative xG in the divison (40.92).

Their shortcomings without the ball have been just as damaging. Newcastle are not the first team to have sliced through Burnley at will. There has been a naiviety and fragility to their performances all season. The last few weeks had brought an improvement, but in Saturday’s must-win encounter; Burnley reverted to type.

Put simply, Kompany’s side have been too easy to play against. They average just 16.1 tackles per game, the fourth-lowest figure in the division. The only three teams that make fewer challenges are those that typically dominate possession and win most of their matches - Manchester City, Arsenal and Aston Villa.

It is hard to shake the feeling that, in many ways, Burnley have been architects of their own downfall. Their commitment to playing out from the back has been hailed as admirable by some, but Burnley are not good enough at it. Twice in recent weeks, errors from Muric with the ball at his feet have led to opposition goals.

Off the pitch, Kompany may regret making so many changes last summer. Burnley spent more than £100m on 15 recruits following promotion. In the process they unwisely jettisoned many of the players who had got them into the Premier League in the first place. Some have since been brought back into the fold, but a lack of cohesion early on contributed to Burnley’s dismal start to life back in the top flight.

Following Saturday’s thumping by Newcastle, the Clarets need a miracle. Anything other than a victory over Tottenham on Saturday would send them down - and even that would not be enough if Nottingham Forest were to beat Chelsea. Kompany was linked with the Spurs job 12 months ago. Now he must begin planning for life back in the Championship."